Orlando Bloom was among the Hobbit cast members who greeted fans at a special event beamed around the world, giving fans a taste of what to expect from the new movie.

The actor plays Legolas in the adaptations of JRR Tolkien's books, and he joined co-star Richard Armitage in New York, with director Peter Jackson in Wellington, Evangeline Lilly in Los Angeles and Lee Pace, Luke Evans and Andy Serkis all in London for the fan event.

Fans were treated to a sneak peek of some of the scenes from the upcoming instalment, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, as well as behind-the-scenes clips including unfinished sets, green screens and bloopers.

The clips showed Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf swearing when he fluffed his lines, and Evangeline saying she was worried about sweating off her elf ears during filming.

Andy, who stars as Gollum and has helped direct some of the film, said: "It was fantastic making the film. When we say it's like an extended family, it really is, with no word of a lie. We had a great laugh doing it and worked very, very hard. You need to be on a ship with like-minded folk or it could be awful!"

Evangeline, who makes her Hobbit debut in the film, told fans in a question and answer session: "One of my inspirations to prepare for the role was Tinkerbell. Tink is a bad a** little fairy. She's tiny and cute but fierce. You don't want to get on her bad side."

Orlando said: "First thing I did was try on my old costume to see if it still fit. I was thrilled to play Legolas again. Since he isn't written into the books, I thought there might be some conflict with fans. In truth, it's been a riot of a time."

Peter, asked what the final day of filming was like, said: " It's hard to answer... it's the end of an era. It is always emotional because you are dealing with farewells and saying goodbye to friends and cast. But there is also a sense of relief, which meant now I can start post-production.

"Not everyone finishes on the same day. We said goodbye at different times. There were a lot of farewells."

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is set to be released in cinemas on December 13.